- Sinner reaches Shanghai final, will end year number one
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Sabalenka downs Gauff in three sets to reach Wuhan final
- Israel warns south Lebanon residents to 'not return'
- Sinner tames Machac to reach Shanghai Masters final
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- Hezbollah fires at Israel as wars rage on Yom Kippur
- Analysts warn more detail needed on new China economic measures
- China tees up fresh spending to boost ailing economy
- China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
- Alexei Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
- Last-minute legal ruling allows betting on US election
- Despite hurricanes, Floridians refuse to leave 'paradise'
- Israel observes Yom Kippur amid firestorm over Lebanon strikes
- Trump demonizes migrants in dark, misleading speech
- X says 'alert' to manipulation efforts after pro-Russia bots report
- US, European markets rise before Boeing unveils sweeping job cuts
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Comoros shock Tunisia, Salah, Mbeumo strike in AFCON qualifiers
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Germany win in Nations League as 10-man Dutch rescue point
- Undav brace sends Germany to victory against Bosnia
- Israel says fired at 'threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- Ecuador's last mountain iceman dies at 80
- Milton leaves at least 16 dead, millions without power in Florida
- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
France opens torture case against Interpol's UAE president
French authorities have opened a case against Interpol's Emirati president over accusations of torture and arbitrary detention by two Britons who were detained in the UAE, a source close to the inquiry told AFP on Wednesday.
The case into suspected complicity in torture by Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi was confirmed by France's anti-terror prosecutors office (PNAT), which has handed it to an investigating magistrate who will now decide whether to press charges.
The two Britons, Matthew Hedges and Ali Issa Ahmad, accuse Raisi of having ultimate responsibility -- as a senior interior ministry security official -- for the torture and arbitrary detention they say they suffered in the United Arab Emirates.
The source said the investigating magistrate must also decide if Raisi, who was elected Interpol president in November, enjoys diplomatic immunity from prosecution in France.
The Britons filed the complaint under France's principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows it to prosecute serious crimes even if they are committed on foreign soil.
This means Raisi could be detained for questioning if he visits the country. Interpol's headquarters are in the southeastern French city of Lyon which he is believed to have visited several times this year.
The case against Raisi, opened in late March, goes a step further than the torture inquiry launched against him by French prosecutors in November, over the detention of UAE dissident Ahmed Mansoor.
At the time, the UAE's foreign ministry rejected the complaints over Mansoor's detention conditions as "without foundation".
"Any legal complaint that may be filed with allegations against al-Raisi is without merit and will be rejected," the UAE foreign ministry added.
In the latest case, the inquiry is in the hands of an investigating magistrate, a step that precedes the pressing of any charges.
Contacted by AFP, the UAE embassy in Paris declined to comment.
- 'Psychological torture' -
Both plaintiffs were in Paris on Wednesday to testify before the investigating magistrate.
Hedges, an academic specialising in the UAE, says he was detained and tortured in the country from May to November 2018 after being arrested on charges of espionage during a study trip.
He was forced to make false confessions that led to a sentence of life imprisonment before his release under international pressure led by the UK.
He told AFP on Wednesday that he spent seven months in solitary confinement, and forced to take medication. This, he said, was part of "a very specific strategy to inflict psychological torture".
Interrogations lasted for up to 15 hours at a time, and there were threats of violence against him and his family, Hedges said, calling his ordeal "terrifying".
He began to self-harm and tried to take his own life, "all a result of the medication".
Hedges said that Raisi "had to have known" about his treatment.
Ahmad, meanwhile, said he was repeatedly beaten and even stabbed during a month in detention in January 2019, allegedly for enthusiastically supporting the UAE's Gulf rival Qatar in a football clash against Iraq during that year's AFC Asian Cup.
During his arrest, a policeman cut the Qatari flag out of his T-shirt with a pocket knife, injuring Ahmad in the process, he told AFP.
He was "interrogated day and night" during the detention. "It's a very hard time I have been through, it's horrendous," he said.
Both men have also initiated legal action against Raisi in Norway, Sweden and Turkey.
Raisi's four-year term at Interpol is largely ceremonial, with Secretary General Juergen Stock handling day-to-day management of the organisation.
His candidacy for the Interpol job prompted an outcry from activists, who pointed to the generous funding Interpol receives from the United Arab Emirates.
gd-sjw-js-jh/imm
O.Norris--AMWN